Sister of the Bride (Fool's Gold #2.5)(5)

"We could stick with the truth. Our mothers set us up."

"Um, right. That's good." She cleared her throat. "Say six months ago?"

"Works for me. We've been together ever since." He grinned. "I was a little surprised when you offered to sleep with me on the first date, but being a gentleman, I didn't refuse the invitation."

Her eyes widened, then narrowed as she drew her brows together. "Excuse me? You're the one who was completely crazy about me within five minutes of us meeting. You practically stalked me. I only went out with you because I felt guilty about turning your life upside down."

He chuckled. "Or we could settle in the middle. Mutual attraction and a growing interest."

"Fine. But I really like the idea of you being desperate."

She had no idea how little it would take to get him to that state, he thought, wanting to touch her skin again to see if all of it was as soft as her hands had felt before.

They walked toward the elevators. Before they got there, an attractive fiftysomething woman hurried up to them. Jackson recognized his mother's best friend.

"Hello, Janis," he said. "Good to see you again."

"Howie," she said absently.

He did his best not to wince at the name. His mother had refused to call him anything else, so it made sense her best friend wouldn't know about the change to something less pathetic than "Howie."

"We have a crisis," Janis told her daughter.

"Only one? I was sure there would be more."

"Don't tempt fate. It's plenty early." Janis drew in a breath. "It's the cake. Actually it's the cake decorator. Apparently the decorations are made in advance and then there's a cake and they come together and it's beautiful. I'm not sure of the details."

"Okay. So what's the problem?"

"The decorator was in a car accident. She's going to be fine...in eight weeks after her broken arm heals. I don't mean to sound unsympathetic, but did that have to happen today? The cake was in the car. So we have decorations. They were delivered yesterday, but no cake."

Janis clutched Katie's arm. "I can't do this. Your sister is hysterical, your father is hiding because he sees the panic on my face. Your relatives are arriving and Aunt Tully has already made a pass at the bellboy. You have to help me."

"Why are they my relatives?" Katie asked. " My sister. My father. You're related to them, too."

"You're not helping," Janis said, her voice getting more shrill with each word.

"Sorry. We'll find another cake decorator."

"How? It's prime wedding season. They're all busy. This is a sign. This wedding is going to be a disaster, I can feel it."

"Mom, calm down."

"I can't."

Jackson pulled out his cell phone. "Maybe I can help. I have a friend who runs a catering business. She used to decorate cakes. I'm sure I could persuade her to help out."

Janis turned to him. "Don't play with my emotions, Howie. I'm right on the edge."

"I'll call her right now."

He scrolled through his list of contacts until he found Ariel's cell. Seconds later she answered.

He greeted her and explained the problem.

"This isn't your wedding, is it?" she asked warily.

"No. A friend's. I'm here for the weekend, then heading home."

She hesitated. "Normally I wouldn't have time, but I had an unexpected cancellation. I'll be there in the morning. I'll need access to the kitchen to get the cake made." She named a price that made him wince, but Janis simply nodded.

"Great," she said. "I'm looking forward to seeing you."

"Thanks. See you soon."

When he hung up, Janis hugged him. "You've saved us all."

"It's a cake, not a rescue from a burning building."

"Close enough." She put a hand on her chest. "I can breathe again, at least until the next crisis. Now go to your rooms and get ready for the party. I'm off to get drunk."

She walked toward the bar. He pressed the up button on the elevator, then glanced at Katie.

She raised her eyebrows. "So...Ariel's an ex."

"How did you know?"

"The average guy doesn't have a former cake decorator on speed dial."

"She's on my contact list. That's different."

"Close enough."

The doors opened and they stepped inside. Katie pushed the button for the fourth floor.

"Bad breakup?" she asked.

"Actually an easy one. She left me. I thought I'd be brokenhearted and I wasn't." He'd gotten over her fast enough to make him realize that they'd be better off as friends.

"I guess that beats pining for months."

He looked at her. "Are you the type to pine?"

"I've had a sulk or two in my life, but not an actual full-on pine."

The elevator stopped and they stepped out. Katie led the way to his room.

"I'm across the hall," she said.

He moved his gaze from the door to her. "Can I trust you?" he asked.

She smiled. "If you'd been this fun fourteen years ago, I wouldn't have threatened to beat you up."